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Brave
Brave is a 2012 American computer-animated fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The story was conceived by writer/director Brenda Chapman, who drew inspiration from her relationship with her own daughter; Chapman became Pixar’s first female director of a feature length film. Brave was written by Chapman, Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, and Irene Mecchi, and directed by Chapman and Andrews and co-directed by Purcell. The film's voice cast features Kelly Macdonald, Julie Walters, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, and Robbie Coltrane. To make the most complex visuals possible, Pixar completely rewrote their animation system for the first time in 25 years. It is the first film to use the Dolby Atmos sound format. Set in the Scottish Highlands, the film tells the story of a princess named Merida who defies an age-old custom, causing chaos in the kingdom by expressing the desire to not be betrothed. After consulting a witch for help, Merida accidentally transforms her mother into a bear and is forced to undo the spell herself before it is too late. Brave premiered on June 10, 2012, at the Seattle International Film Festival, and was released in North America on June 22, 2012, to both positive reviews and box office success. The film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film, the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, and the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film. Preceding the film is a short film entitled La Luna, directed by Enrico Casarosa. Plot A young princess named Merida of the clan Dunbroch is given a longbow by her father, King Fergus, for her birthday, to her mother Queen Elinor's dismay. While practicing, Merida ventures into the woods to fetch a stray arrow, where she encounters a will-o'-the-wisp. Soon afterwards, Mor'du, a giant demon-bear, attacks the family. Merida escapes on horseback with Elinor, while Fergus fights off the bear at the cost of his left leg. Now a free-spirited and headstrong girl with much younger identical triplet brothers, Merida is informed that she is to be betrothed to one of her father's allied clans. Reminding Merida of a legend about a prince who had ruined his own kingdom by pride and refusal to follow his father's wishes, Elinor warns her that failure to consent to the marriage could harm Dunbroch, but Merida is still dissatisfied with the arrangement. Rival clans arrive with their firstborn sons to compete in the Highland Games for Merida's hand in marriage. Merida, twisting the rules, announces she is eligible to compete for her own hand as the first-born of Clan Dunbroch and defeats each of her suitors in an archery contest, shaming the other clans. Merida's actions cause an argument with Elinor and she leaves. In the forest, Merida follows the wisps to the hut of an elderly witch posing as a wood carver. After some bargaining, the witch agrees to give Merida an enchanted cake to change her mother's mind. Merida returns to the castle and gives Elinor the cake, which magically transforms her into a black bear. Realizing that she has made matters worse for herself, Merida returns with Elinor, who still retains most of her human personality, to the witch's cottage but finds only a message left behind. They learn that unless Merida is able to "mend the bond torn by pride" before the second sunrise, the spell will become permanent. The two are led by the wisps to ancient ruins, where they encounter Mor'du, whom Merida discovers was once the power-mad prince in Elinor's legend, under a similar transformation spell. Merida vows to her mother that she will not let her become a wild animal like Mor'du, and theorizes that she can reverse the spell by repairing the tapestry she damaged earlier. At the castle, the clans are on the verge of war, but Merida interrupts their fighting and states that the children should be allowed to get married in their own time to whomever they choose. The clans agree, renewing and strengthening their friendships and breaking tradition. Merida then sneaks into the tapestry room with Elinor. Elinor, who is losing control of her human self, attacks Fergus, but suddenly regains her human consciousness and races out of the castle. Fergus, thinking that the queen was killed by Mor'du, pursues the bear with the other clans. With the help of her brothers, who have also eaten the enchanted cake and transformed into bear cubs, Merida rides after her father while simultaneously sewing up the tapestry. The clan members and Fergus capture Elinor, but Merida intervenes, just before Mor'du appears and attacks. A battle ensues, with Mor'du scattering the clan warriors and almost killing Merida. Elinor intervenes, using the strength of her bear form to hold off Mor'du long enough for him to be crushed by a falling menhir, which releases the prince's spirit. Before departing to the afterlife, he silently thanks Merida for finally freeing him from himself. At the second sunrise, Merida realizes the true meaning of the witch's riddle, and reconciles with her mother. The queen is transformed back to her human form along with the triplets, and the family is happily reunited. A few days later, Merida and Elinor are working together to sew a new tapestry of Merida, and Elinor as a bear, when they are called to the docks to bid farewell to the other clan lords. They then ride their horses across Scotland together with a renewed mother-daughter bond. Voice cast *Kelly Macdonald as Merida, a Scottish princess who dreams of following her own path and living her own life. *Emma Thompson as Queen Elinor, Dunbroch's diplomatic queen and Merida's mother, who just wants what's best for the kingdom and her only daughter. *Billy Connolly as King Fergus, Dunbroch's king and Merida's boisterous father. *Julie Walters as The Witch, a crafty and bumbling old woman who agrees to help Merida. *Robbie Coltrane as Lord Dingwall *Kevin McKidd as Lord MacGuffin and Young MacGuffin *Craig Ferguson as Lord Macintosh *Steve Purcell as The Crow *Patrick Doyle as Martin, the guard *John Ratzenberger as Gordon, the guard *Sally Kinghorn and Eilidh Fraser as Maudie, the castle maid. *Peigi Barker as Young Merida *Steven Cree as Young Macintosh *Callum O'Neill as Wee Dingwall External links * Category:Films Category:2012 release Category:Emma Thompson films Category:Cartoon Films Category:Kelly Macdonald films Category:Robbie Coltrane films Category:Craig Feruson films Category:John Ratzenberg films